MESSY MONDAY!

LIFE IS MESSY!

Especially on Mondays. For Sundays to be serene, I must be still, quit striving and let go of emails and texts. Then when I awaken to a new day, portals need to be finished for tomorow's doc appointment, text and emails answered but my internet* is missing & that's messy!

Think, non-existent atop this mountain ridge. 

Unraveling comes to mind.

Before I had a complete "come apart",  I needed to have a cuppa sani-TEA and get back into the Psalms. All that's necessary is a Bible. 

Grateful I found notes I had taken yesterday---from Psalms 104 (BC FUMC) and Psalm 1 (FEC Memphis) 

Praises for reminders ---Reading aloud Psalm 104 3x and noting words/verses that "jumped off page" and into my heart! 

MEDITATION kept jumping!

May my meditation be pleasing to Him, for I rejoice in the Lord.(Psalm 104:34)

Psalm 1 notes---Blessed (intensely happy and "gets it right"-- Pace)

is the man (a regular person, not  a king or scholar or man of note)

embracing these negatives of actions....

walks not in counsel of wicked...

stands not in the way of sinners....

sits not in the seat of scoffers ie scorners.... 

Yet, the positive stood out to me. 

but he delights in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night. (Psalm 1:2)

Think exercising your mind to dwell on a passage. Think deeply. Ponder. 

Meditation turned my "Messy Monday" into Meditation Monday."

*Internet back @ 1:03 pm EST

SPIRITUAL HOKEY POKEY!?

Monday Musings from a Sunday Sermon.

Beginning our COLD, SNOWY Day with a bit of Hokey Pokey practice so we would be ready for a "Snowy Hokey Pokey" was a bit crazy......especially when we still get our left and right hand confused. We also trip a bit when we try to take our left foot out. Could be because there is a spiritual lesson there. It's okay to be "odd for God" to learn life lessons. (Pace McKee)

All of this to teach a youngster that in Christianity there is no Spiritual Hokey Pokey. it's not one foot in and one foot out. (Pace McKee)

It's ALL in for Jesus!

A good reminder for all of us.

May the Lord hear our WORSHIP from afar on this COLD, SNOWY day!

Pastor Pace begins His sermons repeating Isaiah 40:8.....

"The grass withers,

........the flower fades"....

and the congregation in the pews (or on-line) finishes with....

"but the word of our God stands forever."

More than an opinion from a pundit but God's holy word to start my day with this morning as I look out my breakfast bar window at those examples of creation.

God has my attention; I hope He has yours.

'He who has an ear, let him hear, what the Spirit says to the church. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone the one no one knows except the one who received it.' (Revelation 2:17)

Do I hear an AMEN!?

EARS TO HEAR!

Prayer is a reflection of one's dependence on God. (Rad Andrews)

Ask self, am I prepared to listen as I kneel or bow my head before his throne of grace or am I prompt to petition? When sharing with friends, am I the one doing all the "sharing?" Be "quick to listen" and "slow to speak"  as it says in James 1:19. Listening ears are ears that truly hear from God and others.

T.H.O.T. notes (cropped) from a recent (5/19/24) Pace Mckee Harvest sermon took listening to a whole new level.Do you think the Lord is trying to get my attention?

Expositional listening leads to action NOW….not tomorrow!

 

Listen carefully-- Luke 8:16-21

1)          Pews are for taking in but truth is for giving out! Listen evangelistically. Empty the pews for the glory of God & good of the church

2)          In pew…..Listen for introspection (secrets of your heart will come into light, you can’t hide from God) and repentance V.17 God’s character will not bend.

3)          Caution (“Heed”) and diligence in listening.. Don’t be ever hearing & not understanding. Listening carefully cannot leave you unchanged. Do you just want your ears tickled! Take heed. v.18 Take care how you listen! Listening is NOT passivity but activity. A heedful hearer. Listen as a church. Be in the pews gathered…..not virtual It’s not an individual activity---church, baptized believers listening to sermons together in pews keep us accountable. Plural (us)---preaching for y’all! Kids too. Consider how to spur one another to good deeds. Pray before, after and during your hearing.

4)          Obedience is a part of expositional listening ---relationship with Him. V.21 Hear it and do it. Apply it! 

Pace would probably ask, "Do I hear an Amen?"

Do you hear an AMEN in your heart? You might if you have ears to hear!

GRACE-PACE!

There's always much to learn on a "Teaching Tuesday." Today was a time of reflecting on a re-learning that needed to occur based on a recent faux pas.

My hurry-scurry "get it done" pace trampled my grace-pace. Reflection was needed for learning. Reflection takes time. Time adjusted from self-centered, people pleasing accomplishments to God-Centered time. 

I am yours, O Lord. May nothing touch my heart more than your love and acceptance. 

I need a breather from "doing." A lesson in mercy-math requires time.

Recounting God's acts of goodness and mercy, even severe mercy, were my "Teaching Tuesday" focus. 

Re-learning, has me remembering that the Lord loves me the way that I am, and all work is his work. His grace in me and through me fulfills His purpose for me---not self-aggrandizement or personal peace without interruptions. 

Yesterday, as I walked by the practically empty office on our new pastor's first day, "on the job," I peeked in to say, " welcome"....or was it more like barging in to interrupt his time of peace and reflection?  Regardless, he jumped right up with a smile on his face. 

Lesson learned from this brilliant, thoughtful, energetic, kind and courteous young man.

Lessons of grace from Pace to this old lady. 

His Grace-Pace shows how much I have left to learn about responding first to others over self.

MONDAY = PRAYERS FOR REVIVAL

Revival begins in the prayer room.

Prayer is a transformative divine privilege of the saints!  (Pace McKee)

Revival is truly when God's people return to God and humble themselves and pray allowing others to see Jesus in daily life.....yours. (2 Chronicles 7:14) May the Lord continue to revive saints again and again! (Psalm 71:20)

This week may others see Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:27) ... in the family of Christ at First Evan and throughout the world!